Transepithelial Transport in Cell Culture

Abstract

This chapter is a general review of our laboratory’s effort to utilize epithelial cell culture to explore questions of epithelial transport that are less amenable to other experimental approaches. It is remarkable that cultured transporting epithelial cells express their phenotype when dissociated from the mesenchymal scaffolding of the tissue of origin (Misfeldt et al., 1976). Our experimental insight was to culture the epithelial cells on a permeable support, such as a membrane filter, that would allow the cell layer to be experimentally manipulated (Misfeldt et al., 1975). The cultured cells could then be mounted in an Ussing chamber, which provided access to, and isolation of, the fluid bathing either side of the epithelial sheet. Thus, by this experimental technique there is formed in culture a functioning epithelial tissue from dissociated individual cells. Experimental questions could thus be directed at cellular and subcellular processes that require tissue level function for solution.